Duty Station

Have you ever had a friend announce she was moving and - within three weeks - she was gone? Have you ever had your spouse deploy with 24 hours notice? Have you ever left a unit feeling like you didn’t...

I just booked the last trip I will take with my current passport. While I am not normally a sentimental person, I am oddly attached to this little book. In the 10 years I've had this passport, we spent...

Is this your first year in San Antonio? Have you heard people talk about Fiesta but wonder what it is all about? Or has someone at work smashed a hollow egg filled with confetti on your head and you...

These days, the first thing anyone asks me is, “Are you ready for the move?” We’re PCSing in six weeks. I should be deep in preparations--cleaning, decluttering, saying goodbye. But the truth is, I’m hardly thinking about it. That isn’t to...

It was my most difficult goodbye. We spent a month leaving jobs and schools; friends and people who had became family; favorite places and foods. I ate more currywurst und pommes and drank more espresso doppio and Hefeweizen than...

Military families make up less than 0.5 percent of the American population. Though we have been at war since 9/11, few Americans have served in the military or have a direct link to it. There is a large gap between civilians...

I was 18 years old the first time I moved away from home. And it changed me. I learned how to live with another female. As a girl with only brothers, this was a big one. Thankfully, I was lucky enough...

Friendship can be hard especially when balanced on a perpetually spinning wheel. I liken military friendships to a roller coaster; the ride can be a thrill, circuslike enjoyment, spinning all sorts of directions with extreme highs and extreme lows....

Other than living overseas for a few years as a child, for most of my life I have lived in Indiana, also known as the Hoosier State. I’m a Midwest girl and love it here. Indiana is known as...

  Seven and a half years.  Besides the state I grew up in, this is the longest I have lived anywhere. When we first moved to Texas, things felt foreign. They have now become so familiar -- of course when we...

On December 6, 2018, my husband burst through our front door much earlier than I was expecting him. He had been on duty all night, and I had not seen or heard from him since the day before. He...

My family and I enjoy holidays, but we love the Christmas season. The lights and decorations; the cheer and spirit; the food and family. Something about this time of year and season is just a little magical. I look forward...